Local MP supports new food labelling

October 31, 2012 4:04 PM

Making healthy dietary choices can be a difficult task, but a change in the way food is packaged will make these choices easier. MP for Carshalton and Wallington Tom Brake is backing a new proposal from the Department of Health that will institute a combination of guideline daily amounts (GDA), colour coding and high/medium/low text to indicate levels of sugar and fat content on the front of food packaging.

Tom said "Putting this information on the front of packaging will allow buyers to see what they're eating at first glance. A consistent system such as this will reduce the confusion that may occur due to ambiguous or improper labelling."

Following the announcement, the UK Government will be working with industry and other partners to agree to the detail of the system and make sure they use consistent visuals to show - on front of packs - how much fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar, and how many calories are in food products.

The new labelling scheme is expected to be used in stores by summer 2013.